Frequently Asked Questions:
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A: I provide dog walking, pet sitting visits (all animals including farm), medication administration, pet transportation, nail trims, and anal gland expressions.
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I work 7 days a week 8am-8pm. With that being said I take off random days here and there but am working on hiring soon!
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A: When you book an appointment that time and day is reserved for you. That means I reject anyone that is asking for an appointment during that same time. When you cancel with less than 48 hour notice, it is entirely too late for me to reschedule. That means I have already turned away people that could have used our help.
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A: No, I (Christina) do not do overnights or board, I live in a trailer with a dog and three cats. It would be unfair to your pets to be in my small home all day while I am away working.
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A: I, Christina, service Parkdale, Hood River, Dee, Odell, The Dalles, Chenoweth, Mosier, Bingen, White Salmon, and surrounding areas! I also travel to Tygh Valley once a month to provide nail trims and anal gland expressions. Tygh Valley clients do incur a driving fee.
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A: Nope! You having multiple pets or pets needing medications does not bother me one bit. I am going to be there anyways! As long as enough time is booked for me to provide the services needed, there will be no extra charges!
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A: Right now I book about 1-2 months in advance. For example if it is September I am booking out until the end of October or November. When employees are hired I usually switch it to one month in advance to provide my employees with flexibility.
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A: Absolutely! We love ALL animals! Dogs, cats, goats, cows, horses, hedgehogs, ferrets, reptiles, birds, fish, hamsters, bunnies, anything you can imagine. Christina is the only person 100% comfortable with all animals. Farm animals are covered by my insurance as long as they are not utilized for commercial purposes, selling their by-products is fine.
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A: Yes! I charge $5 extra per appointment on Holidays. The Holidays included are: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Easter, Memorial Day Weekend, July 4th, and Labor Day Weekend.
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A: Yes! I (CHRISTINA ONLY) must be aware of this beforehand and multiple meet and greets will be scheduled. I am very honest and if I think it is something I cannot handle / am uncomfortable with I will tell you. I have muzzles for those pups who are unhappy with nail trims. I will tell you if I think it is becoming a traumatizing experience for your pet and therefore it is not worth it to me. I firmly believe that animals are energy based and gaining an animals trust is the way to work with them. Dominance is not everything.
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A: No. PHONE CALLS ARE FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY! Not only is this a way for me to determine when an actual emergency is occurring, but it is unprofessional for me to be on the phone while I am working. When I am with your pets they deserve my undivided attention for professional and safety reasons. You are more than welcome to send me a text, email, or schedule a meet and greet! Any changes to your pets routines is great to have in writing anyways so I can refer back to them!
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A: Please be aware that non-household pets, breeding animals, and animals used for commercial use are NOT covered by my insurance. Animals with a known/ documented bite history are also unfortunately not covered. We are still happy to care for these animals and provide these services but I am providing you transparency and due diligence here in the FAQ, and when you agree to the terms when you book appointments as to what is NOT covered.
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While all TAC services (not including the nail trims, anal gland expressions, and Hood River Hound Wash services) are required to be through scout, if you want Tina to set up your account and manually book your appointments there will be a $20 administrative fee. Why? This application is designed to be user friendly and rather intuitive. It has many amazing additions my previous software did not that many clients struggled with. Dedicating time to get consent, intake forms, scheduling, and general information takes time. My time is valuable and limited. When I have to focus on manual website help, I often forget or respond in a time frame that is unprofessional to clients. This application is designed to make most administrative tasks automatic and available at anytime for clients.
FAQ Regarding Scout
Q: Why are there arrival windows and no longer specific times available to book?
A: If you are a recurring client, you are familiar with the fact I was often late. To me, that comes off as lazy and unprofessional and not a great representation of who I am or the business I am running. I am late due to the vast area I provide services to, and the fact that I work with animals means they can sometimes be unpredictable. My previous website would block out 20 minutes of driving time between appointments and that often was not enough if I had to go to an appointment in Parkdale from The Dalles, etc. Also, it is going to be much more time efficient on my end as well because I can group local appointments next to each other rather than going to White Salmon, Hood River, then White Salmon again. Arrival windows create an opportunity for me to have more efficient and on time days! If you need a specific time due to medications or other serious considerations there are options for that.
Q: “Why do you utilize Scout’s software?”
A: To create more professionalism, and time for myself and your pets. This application is extremely organized. It has everything I need in one place and processes invoices automatically and cancellations for me which takes me hours every single week. That is more hours I can have available for your pets. It also will be a safe and easy resource to use when employees are hired.